Word family noun friend friendliness friendship friendly adjective friendly ≠ unfriendly friendless verb befriend
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishunfriendlyun‧friend‧ly /ʌnˈfrendli/ ●●○ adjective (comparative unfriendlier, superlative unfriendliest) 1 not kind or friendly The old man looked cross and unfriendly. a lonely unfriendly placeunfriendly to/towards The villagers were really quite unfriendly towards us.2 not helping or wanting a type of person or thingunfriendly to We have created cities that are unfriendly to pedestrians.3 an unfriendly government or nation is one that opposes yoursTHESAURUSperson/voice/behaviourunfriendly/not friendly behaving towards someone in a way that shows you are not interested in them or are not ready to talk to them or help themThe hotel staff were unfriendly and unhelpful.an unfriendly tone of voiceThey didn't seem very friendly to strangers.She gave him an unfriendly glance.hostile very unfriendly, and ready to argue or fightHe was openly hostile towards me when I arrived.A hostile crowd gathered outside the US embassy.cold behaving towards other people as if you do not like them or care about themHe gave her a cold stare.a cold voice frosty unfriendly, especially because you are angry with someoneWhen she spoke, her tone was frosty.He got a frosty reception from his wife when he finally returned home (=she was not very friendly towards him).aloof [not before noun] not wanting to talk to other people or spend time with them, especially because you think you are better than themSome politicians are criticized for being too aloof.antagonistic unfriendly and always trying to start arguments with someoneWhy are Kate and John so antagonistic towards each other?antisocial not interested in meeting other people or forming friendly relationships with themSorry if I'm being antisocial, but I need to get my work done.He was an antisocial loner with no friends.place/organizationunfriendly making you feel as though you are not wantedThe report found that the church can seem unfriendly to outsiders.unwelcoming unfriendly – used especially about the physical characteristics or appearance of somethingThe entrance to the factory is cold, bare, and unwelcoming.The new fence is just one example of the city’s attempt to make public spaces unwelcoming to the homeless.impersonal lacking the normal friendly relations between people who work or do business togetherI had no desire to work for a large impersonal organization.They just handed over the keys and walked out – it was all so impersonal.forbidding unfriendly, uncomfortable, and a little frightening, so that you do not want to go thereThe school was a rather forbidding building surrounded by a high steel fence. Examples from the Corpus
unfriendly• His eyes were watchful, unfriendly.• In fact my Independent on Sunday piece about Kate Adie was not unfriendly.• Is that villager friendly or unfriendly?• He wasn't actually unfriendly, but I still didn't feel comfortable.• an unfriendly expression• Their mission is to rescue friendly foreigners from unfriendly territory.• Unions and retiree groups insist they have it on good authority that the White House budget is unfriendly to feds and retirees.• Some company members were unfriendly to the new recruit.• He was not unfriendly with me.unfriendly to/towards• Ell wasn't unfriendly to Bernice.• Unions and retiree groups insist they have it on good authority that the White House budget is unfriendly to feds and retirees.• It was an interview broadcast by a privately owned company, said to be not unfriendly to the Conservatives.• Some company members were unfriendly to the new recruit.unfriendly to• We have created cities that are unfriendly to pedestrians. 